Low, turbid water poses a risk to spawning trout Anglers: please don't fish the Esopus Creek from the Shandaken Portal to the Asho...

Friday, November 10, 2017

Record Number of Americans Support Menhaden Protection

150,000 Public Comments in Support of Menhaden Protection Announced; Most Public Comments Ever Delivered to ASMFC!

(New York, NY Nov. 10, 2017) A record number of Americans are urging
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC) to support
protection of Atlantic Menhaden in their upcoming decision. Over 150,000
Americans sent public comments in favor of strong Menhaden protections
during the recently completed public comment period. The ASMFC will meet
November 14th to decide on Amendment 3—a proposal to provide
stronger protections for Atlantic Menhaden that takes into
consideration the important role the “most important fish in the sea” plays as both a source of food for other species and filterer of water.

“From striped bass anglers and fishing captains to whale watchers and
bird enthusiasts, the varying interests across the east coast that
support managing menhaden to account for their importance to ocean
ecosystems shouldn’t come as a surprise. Anyone who pays close
attention to life in the water has seen first-hand just how important
this fish is, and wants to see the species conservatively managed,” said
Zach Cockrum, Northeast Regional Representative for the National
Wildlife Federation.

The Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will meet
November 13‐14, 2017 to consider approval of Amendment 3 to the
Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden and set
specifications for the 2018 fishing season.

Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia Tyrannus) play a central role
in the ecological and economic vitality of the Atlantic coastal
ecosystem as an essential food for whales as well as important
commercial and game fishes (striped bass, bluefin tuna, bluefish,
weakfish, tarpon, sharks), and a host of other marine wildlife. Menhaden
play a key role in the regulation of regional water quality by
filtering phytoplankton; its food source and a major cause of algae
blooms and brown tides.